Chapter Text
Mikasa nervously clenched her fists.
Her mother hadn’t told her a lot about their descent, so now it all was…new and uncharted.
Unlike her father’s family. With Historia’s help in uncovering some information, classified and kept in secret for decades, Mikasa had recently learned more about Ackermans, their origins, and fate.
“Levi?” Mikasa mumbled, entering his office.
“Come, sit here. I’ve got something interesting,” the main said quite joyfully, pointing to the chair next to him.
“What’s this?” the girl asked, eyeing the folder with the royal stamp that Levi was now carefully opening.
“Something Historia sent to me. To you and me, technically,” he replied.
”Huh?” Mikasa got confused.
“Secret documents from the royal archives. These, in particular, are about some certain clan and those who belonged to it,” Levi hinted.
”Ackermans…” Mikasa guessed.
”That’s right,” the man nodded and handed the girl a neatly folded sheet of paper. “Here, read the letter first.”
~
Dear Levi,
I hope you are doing well.
I remember us talking about the possibility of the information about Ackermans being hidden away somewhere in the royal archives and libraries, so I’ve pulled some strings.
Indeed, there are things you may find interesting. It’s not much, but I believe it’s worth your attention anyway.
Feel free to destroy or keep all the materials to yourself if you wish. These are the copies made specifically at my request, since the originals are too old and fragile to be transported.
Kindest regards,
Historia
P.S. Please share all these materials with Mikasa. I think, she deserves to know as well.
~
“So what’s in these folders?” Mikasa asked after reading the letter.
”I don’t know,” the man answered. “Haven’t opened them yet. Thought we could do it together.”
”Together as a family?” Mikasa joked awkwardly.
Mikasa. Joked. Levi’s eyes rounded.
”Yeah, ha-ha, sure,” Levi mocked. “Might as well turn out to be your cousin. Or uncle. Will you joke then?”
”I’ll run around calling you ‘bro’ or something,” the girl mocked as well.
Where did all her great mood come from? Had Eren finally made some right calls?
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he barked, glaring at her.
Mikasa smiled and nodded.
Levi opened the first folder. It contained various notes about the Ackerman clan origins, occupation, powers, frequent awakening occurrences, and other general information.
The second one, however, was more interesting to the duo. It had the family trees schemes and individuals’ descriptions. To their both surprise, there were a lot of branches, entwined and separated alike.
Finally, after some pages and papers flipping, Levi saw the names he had been hoping to find there.
Kenny Ackerman
Kuchel Ackerman
Both names contained no information, pictures or notes next to them.
”There I am,” he said, stroking his finger under the names.
”Kuchel was your mother?” Mikasa guessed.
Levi nodded and leaned back on his chair, staring at the ceiling. He seemed to be emotional about this finding. Of course, he stayed just as expressionless as usual, but his mind spiraled him away.
There were real records of his mother. Her name, inked on those pages made her real. It made her a part of the Ackerman history.
Levi never officially existed. Who would make any records of the bastards born in the Underground brothels? He had never been supposed to be born in the first place. But Levi’s mother had decided otherwise. Hoping to keep her son safe, Kuchel had always kept him in the dark about his descent. Till her last days, that woman had done her best to take care of her little boy.
In this moment, Levi felt how much she’d had to go through to make it possible for him to live and survive. And that feeling left the man in ache and almost breathless.
Meanwhile, Mikasa kept turning the pages, one by one, until she noticed something familiar as well.
”Levi, look, I think it’s my…” the girl turned her head and, seeing Levi’s sullen face, slightly tossed his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?”
The man looked at her, trying to shake off his thoughts and get his focus back. Then slowly nodded.
”Yeah, I’m okay. So. What do you have?” he leaned towards the papers again.
“I think it’s my grandfather,” Mikasa pointed her finger to the name on the paper. Next to it, there was also no additional information. “I remember my dad telling me about him. There’s no one else with that name, so… I guess there I am, too.”
Levi nodded in acknowledgment.
”Now let’s get to the funny part, shall we?”
He didn’t need to clarify. Mikasa knew well what he’d meant. What were they to each other?
After a long time of page shuffling and dots connecting, the two finally found their common ancestor. It was about eight generations ago. They attempted to calculate precisely, but the lineage turned out be too entangled with other people and clans to count what cousins they were to each other.
”So, no ‘bro’ then?” Levi mocked her again, celebrating his little victory.
”No ‘bro’…” Mikasa sighed, though lightheartedly.
She touched the wrap on her wrist. How much was hidden beneath that crest? What had her mother’s family been like? Until today, she had been sure she would never find out. And yet, there she was, with Lady Kiyomi coming to Paradis and telling her such news.
Mikasa was drifting in her thoughts, when she suddenly felt someone’s firm hand on her wrist.
“Stop fiddling with it. Get your shit together and go into that room already. Don’t show them your emotions,” Levi whispered irritably and went to the room, where everyone was already taking their places around the table, to negotiate the possible cooperation between Paradis and Hizuru.
Levi found her crying on the balcony that evening. He didn’t say a word, just silently sat beside and looked into the sky.
His presence had long ago become just so usual that Mikasa didn’t care anymore if he saw her crying, angry, or anything else.
Her sobs finally became scarcer.
”You missed the dinner,” he stated quietly then.
Was it his excuse for searching for the girl or was he really concerned about her eating routine again?
”I’m not hungry,” she said, not lifting her eyes at him. “I’ll eat something later. We’ve got a room full of Sasha’s snacks anyway.”
Levi huffed and put his hand on her back. That gesture had also become something just too usual. By now, the girl knew well – such was his subtle way of reassurance and support.
”It was cruel, you know,” Mikasa finally said, bitter. “Coming here, pretending to look for the lost descendant and then…giving us all those conditions, dammit.”
”It was,” he agreed. “Every day that I’m getting to know this new world more, I get more and more disappointed. Dull people. Fucked up people. Sly people. They’re not just in the Capital or the Underground. They’re all over the world. And it just keeps getting bigger. Where the hell are we even headed?” Levi said, thoughtfully shaking his head.
”I don’t know,” Mikasa whispered.
They sat like that, in silence, until the darkness consumed them completely. Each had their own troubles to think through.
Suddenly, Levi’s eyes glimmered.
One day, a long time ago, he’d made some suggestion. A promise to himself, really. And it was time to finally make it happen.